A GOOD OUTCOME MAY BE THE WORST THING FOR YOU!

So much of our prayer life is spent praying for good outcomes.

 

Dear Lord…

Please heal my grandmother who is on her death bed.
Be with the doctors. Give the nurses wisdom.
(or more likely...give the doctors wisdom and be with the nurses)
Help me find a new job quickly.
Please help us to find a house soon.
Lead us, guide us, and direct us in a special way.
Please let me get married.
Please let us get pregnant.
Please help our children behave.
Please let it be your will for my children to get a job and move out of my house... 

You may be praying for a good outcome even today.  Good outcomes can be good for us! And God glorifies himself through them! But what is the condition of the heart that is found habitually praying for good outcomes?

 

Is it a comfortable heart that does not want to be disturbed from the pleasures of life?
Is it a fearful heart that is terrified of God’s answer?
Is it a lazy heart that sees only the work involved?
Is it an impatient heart that hates to wait?
Is it a temporal heart that refuses to think past this life?

 

I can’t help but think of the all too familiar words of James:

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” ESV

 

Faith that is "perfect, complete, lacking in nothing" requires trials to get there.  Without storms in our lives, we would dry up like a desert. The best pictures of mountain tops are taken from cameras shuttering in valleys.  Help a butterfly out of its cocoon and it will die, not fly.  Is your life one marked by seeking lots of comfort in lots of ways? Perhaps the good outcome you’re praying for is the worst thing for you.

 

The big picture is this: There is a dying world on its way to hell that is watching how we handle these good and bad outcomes.  The world has them too.  They are watching us in an attempt to validate their suspicion that Jesus is a crutch and not worth following.  Whether you are bathing in the sun or crouching in a storm, I hope your heart is truly singing "Hallelujah, all I have is Christ. Hallelujah, Jesus is my life" as you live among this dying world. For all of us there is a time to die! The time is now!